"If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel's heart beat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence." - from George Eliot’s Middlemarch

Disclaimer: I am not making any money off Healing. I am only making reviews. So be a dear and do want comes naturally. Press submit review, please.

Summary: The Cure is only temporary. While healing Rogue and Magneto find each other and realize they have more in common than they originally thought.

Soundtrack: I recommend the song “Mouth” by Bush. It’s very dark and seductive, and really sets the mood if you’re into that sort of thing.

Chapter Five: Share and Share Alike

Rogue and Magneto:

Rogue froze in shock as Magneto leaned down and kissed her firmly on the mouth, caressing first her upper then her lower lip with his tongue till she parted her lips and he moved deeper, his tongue penetrating her small mouth. She couldn’t move. She didn’t know what to think. Was he really kissing her? She waited urgently for the pull of her power to begin, only to marvel that it wasn’t working. His tongue began to circle her own and against her will she let out the smallest moan, praying he hadn’t heard. His hands came up to wrap around her shoulders, lightly holding her. She was bowled over by the warmth of his body and the commanding way his mouth possessed hers. He shifted his head to kiss her from a different angle and her body unconsciously pressed against his.

When he finally pulled away, Rogue could only stare up at him dumbly. His kiss had been… She didn’t want to think about that. And where was her power when she needed it? Why hadn’t she hurt him? She couldn’t believe what had just happened. She couldn’t get her mind around the idea of Magneto kissing her! It was unbelievable! She wanted to slap him; she wanted to run away; she wanted to kiss him again.

“You should learn to control your powers, Rogue, not let them control you.”

“How?” She looked up at him hopeful and scared as he stopped the magnetic pull holding her cuffs together and they fell to ground with a loud clink.

“When you’re ready to learn, I would be happy to teach you.” Rogue scanned his face, trying as hard as she could with the Magneto in her head to read his expression.

“You mean join the Brotherhood of Mutants, fight for you. You just want to use me again.” Rogue’s mouth twisted into an angry sneer as the thought took firm hold in her mind.

“I could teach you to control your powers; to live the normal life you so crave. I could even teach you to become more powerful than Jean Grey ever was. But it would take time. During that time you would have to stay with the Brotherhood; if you choose to fight with us for mutant freedom that would be your choice.”

“You’re just gonna use me again. All you ever do is take advantage of other mutants.” The words came out before she could stop herself. She could feel the tension rise in him as his spine locked and he stood taut in place.

“I have no hidden agenda here. If I make use of the mutants in my organization it is purely to further the cause of mutant kind. You of all people should know how honorable my intentions are.” And that’s what scared Rogue the most. No matter how unscrupulous his methods, Magneto’s intentions were completely justified. It would have been bad enough to have a madman in her head. But having a madman whose ideas made sense was even scarier. She backed against the wall trying to put distance between her and the heat she felt from his warm body only inches from her own.

“Rogue, if you ever want to learn to control your mutation, you will have to come to me. If you plan to continue taking that abominable drug, you’re out of luck. There’s none left. This is the last of it.” Magneto pulled a syringe with a broken needle out of his pocket, displaying it before her. “There’s only one dose left.” Rogue’s eyes took in the sight of the lone syringe, looking so tiny in his big gloved hand. Her gaze wandered about the devastation wrought by the Phoenix to Worthington Labs and Rogue couldn’t help but believe him when he said it was the only dose that had survived. She looked longingly at the syringe.

“You still want it, don’t you?” Magneto’s deep baritone filled her ears and Rogue couldn’t keep the desperate tone out of her voice.

“Yes, please…Please, I-” She didn’t know what to say, she just wanted it so badly, to touch again; to kiss Bobby again and have him erase Magneto’s kiss from her mind.

“Fine.” He produced two tiny vials from his jean pocket, filling each carefully with half of the glowing green liquid. To Rogue each vial looked like it held scarcely more than four drops. “You’ll have to find a way to inject it yourself and it will only last two months.” He gave Rogue a surprisingly kind look. “What will you do then my dear?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe Dr. McCoy could make more, or Worthington will start producing it again. I just can’t continue hurting people all the time. I hate it.” Magneto’s face took on a look of sympathy and he gave her a small smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“I understand Rogue. I once tried to deny my mutation. I tried to destroy my powers only to fail again and again. But you can’t live in denial forever. When you want to learn to master your abilities, find me.”

And with that he turned and walked away from her, leaving Rogue speechless in the rubble of Worthington Labs’ Alcatraz facility.

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Notes: Okay, so I combined some comic book storylines here. In the Age of Apocalypse series, Magneto can touch by manipulating the magnetic fields around her. I like the idea that after the first movie and the events on the Statue of Liberty, Magneto would have wanted to find a way to stop Rogue’s skin from being able to harm him. So he figured out a way to touch.

As I said, I am mostly unfamiliar with the comics, so I’ve made up my own cool background for Magneto. At first he didn’t know how to control his powers and they caused him a lot of distress. This seems very plausible to me.

I don’t like the idea that Rogue’s power will always be something she can never control. Bobby doesn’t walk around freezing everything he touches accidentally. Cyclops gets special glasses. Why is Rogue’s mutation so unstoppable? I think there has to be a way for her to control its pull. So I’ve created one in this story, and I even supply ways she learns to use it and the good and bad effects this has on her.

Preview: The stage is set for Rogue, isn’t it? Magneto sure knows how to make a tempting offer. In the next chapter our characters contemplate their first meeting and Magneto begins to rebuild the Brotherhood.